Food For Thought

The Birth Of Christ And The Birth Of America Are Linked

As we approach the day in which we commemorate Christ's birth, I am reminded of a quote by John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837, he spoke these words:

Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? . . . Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?

Adams was exactly right. The United States of America is the only nation in human history established by mostly Christian people, founded upon 2,000 years of Christian thought and Biblical Natural Law principles, and dedicated to the purpose of religious and personal liberty and equal justice under the law for all men. This truth is easily observed within America's earliest history.

America's forebears first established a written covenant with God as early as November 11, 1620, when they penned The Mayflower Compact. It states in part (taken from William Bradford's handwritten copy):

In the name of God, Amen. . . . Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honour of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colonie in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant, and combine our selves together into a civil body politick; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, Acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colonie: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

From the beginning, the sentiments and statements of America's founders make it clear that this country has enjoyed a love and appreciation for the rights and freedoms recognized in Natural Law that are unique in the annals of human history. No other nation has such a heritage.

The Declaration of Independence states, "[Men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It also states that these rights are "self-evident" and that they constitute the "Laws of Nature." These principles are taken directly from the scriptures—and from Enlightenment fathers such as Hugo Grotius and John Locke, who formed their writings largely from the scriptures.

The Law of Nature is described in Romans 2:14-16. That our Creator is the Author of life is seen in Genesis 2:7. That God, not government, grants liberty is seen in Galatians 5:1. The "pursuit of happiness" is found in Ecclesiastes 3:13.

Beyond that, virtually every one of the ten articles contained in the Bill of Rights has scriptural foundation. The First Amendment recognizes the Natural right of freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. Our founding documents properly established a government designed to "secure these rights." Therefore, under the First Amendment, Christians (and others) are free to preach their faith and assemble for worship.

Likewise, the Second Amendment has Biblical Natural Law foundation. Our Lord said in Luke 11:21, "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace." In Luke 22:35, 36 He said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

It is truly incredible to me how many Christians do NOT understand the SACRED DUTY of self-defense. Obviously, this is because America's pastors are NOT teaching them the principles of Natural Law as found in the scriptures.

I realize that there are many pastors and Christians who try to impugn the necessity of owning a firearm. These people are famous for saying things such as "God will take care of you; no one needs a gun." Of course, these same people always condone police officers carrying guns and shooting people in self-defense—and if these pastors and Christians were in trouble, they would not hesitate to call a gun-toting policeman to come to their assistance (if they had time, of course). I have never understood why it is that Christians who are NOT policemen are supposed to "trust God" to take care of them and, therefore, remain unarmed, but Christian police officers are somehow exempt from this same spiritual notion.

Beyond that, many pastors teach that Christians are obligated to obey civil authorities who demand that we surrender our firearms. They even quote Romans 13 and other scriptures in a lame attempt to prove this ludicrous position.

Other articles contained in the Bill of Rights also have scriptural basis. For example, the Fourth Amendment is found in Deuteronomy 24:10, 11. The Eighth Amendment originates in Deuteronomy 15:2, 3. Again, these principles are "self-evident" truths which come from "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." Even the pattern for America's constitutional form of government consisting of three separate and distinct branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—is seen in Isaiah's description of Jehovah's headship over these three great divisions of government (Isaiah 33:22).

The signers of our Declaration of Independence could never have imagined that individual states (including the State of Massachusetts, where our war for independence began) would deny their citizens the right to bear arms. They could never have dreamed that states would deny their citizens the right to be free from warrantless searches, which happens every day throughout this country. They could never have imagined that the time would come when their posterity would be denied the basic freedoms to publicly express their reverence for God. Never could they have imagined that the day would come when citizens of the several sovereign states (each with a State constitution protecting religious liberty) would be denied their right to pray in school, place Nativity scenes on public property, or hang copies of the Ten Commandments on courthouse walls.

I am also confident that America's founders would be completely repulsed by the way the United States has jumped headlong into corporatism, socialism, militarism, and globalism. At the national level, Democrats and Republicans alike have created a central government so large that it would be unrecognizable to any founding father—even Alexander Hamilton or John Adams. Big Business sucks feverishly at the teat of Big Government; the major media has become little more than a propaganda ministry of Big Government; corporate 501c3 churches view Big Government as a god to be worshipped; and America (including and especially Christians and churches) seems to be drunk on the perpetual wars and entangling alliances of the neocon Warfare State. Surely, our Founding Fathers must be turning over in their graves.

Therefore, at this Christmas season, let us recommit ourselves to our nation's founding principles. Furthermore, let us renew with vigor the fight for freedom before our liberties and heritage disappear altogether.

Yes, John Quincy Adams was right. The birth of Christ and the birth of America are indissolubly linked.

And by producing THE FREEDOM DOCUMENTS, I have done my best to try and give the American people the ultimate historical resource containing the principles of liberty upon which America was framed.

In addition, this is the FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT for our special Christmas printing of our first-ever revised FREEDOM DOCUMENTS.

We began offering THE FREEDOM DOCUMENTS nearly 20 years ago, in which we compiled dozens of the greatest documents of American history in one beautiful volume.

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I am truly excited about this brand new edition of THE FREEDOM DOCUMENTS. The documents we have added make this volume the greatest collection of the most important documents of liberty and constitutional government ever produced—documents that, if applied, would restore the blessings of Heaven to our land.

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